Sixteen acres of overgrown Flathead County park land in Columbia Falls may find new life as a sports complex.

Located just north of the railroad tracks in the Vetville for Vets subdivision, the undeveloped county property is tangled with deadfall, and the county has been contemplating for some time what to do with the land, according to Flathead County Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher.

The subdivision originally was developed in the early 1960s for railroad veterans.

“We offered it to the city of Columbia Falls along with $9,000 for [tree] thinning, and they turned it down,” Fisher said of the park land. “We wanted to have loggers come in and clean it up and they turned it down because there’s no merchantable timber.”

But Kathy Price, president of

the nonprofit Columbia Falls Youth Softball Association, is working on a plan to raise enough money to develop the property as an athletic complex for children and adults.

The idea is to have a long-term lease agreement between the county and nonprofit group, Fisher said, but no draft agreement has been written yet.

A preliminary design plan shows four soccer fields, four softball fields, a touch or flag football field, sledding hill, space for a future hockey rink, restrooms, concession area and up to 174 parking spaces.

The county Park Board held a public meeting Oct. 4 on the proposal and plans to hold another public discussion, probably on Nov. 1, Fisher said. Several people showed up in opposition, and six letters of support were received.

“We’re solely in the public comment phase for a private Kidsport-type deal,” he said. “It’s all still very preliminary.”

Some neighbors are concerned about the traffic such a complex would generate and access on narrow roads.

Rob Allen, who lives on Third Street West North across the road from Vetville, said streets in the area are narrow and traffic tends to back up before and after school at the Second Avenue West North railroad crossing.

“The reason they’re pushing for this is they [the county] want to absolve themselves of the fire hazard,” Allen said, adding that neighbors have been “broadsided” by the elaborate plan.

Neighbors agree that improvements need to be made to the property, but they’d rather see walking or cross-country ski trails.

In addition to Park Board approval, the project would need approval from the Flathead County Conservation District and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, plus percolation tests and approval for a drain field.

In a letter sent by Price to the county on Sept. 13, she offered assistance from the nonprofit association.

“My thoughts would be to propose to donate the time and effort to get the necessary items accomplished using the county’s funds appropriated for this park,” she said.

Price could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Fisher said the county doesn’t intend to sell the park land as surplus property, but it can’t remain in the condition it is now.

“I’d like to do something and we want to be a good neighbor,” he said. “The bottom line is it’s up to the people.”

Comments on the proposed sports complex can be e-mailed to jedfisher@flathead.mt.gov, or mail them to Flathead County Parks and Recreation, 309 FFA Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com